Main Course
8665 recipes found
Spicy Peanut Stew With Ginger and Tomato
Hearty stews needn't be meat-laden. Case in point: this rich, vibrantly-spiced vegan stew of eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini and peanut butter that is seasoned with North African spices like cumin, coriander, turmeric and cayenne. Fresh ginger and jalapeño add a little kick.
Spring Vegetable Japchae (Korean Glass Noodles)
Japchae is a savory Korean stir-fry with mixed vegetables, beef and sweet potato noodles. Also known as glass noodles, sweet potato noodles can be found in Asian markets; once cooked, the noodles turn translucent, light and chewy. (They are also wheat-free, so they are a great option for those avoiding gluten.) The noodles are cooked first, then sit in the sauce, absorbing all of the garlicky sesame and soy flavors like a sponge. This springtime japchae celebrates crisp asparagus and snap peas. Japchae can be made a few hours ahead and served at room temperature, making it the perfect dish for potlucks and picnics.
Eggplant Ravaiya
Ravaiya is the name of this traditional Gujarati dish, where whole small vegetables like okra, potatoes or the baby eggplant used here — ringan is the Gujarati term for eggplant — are stuffed with a chunky spice paste, a complexly flavored mixture of crushed peanuts, chiles, ginger and spices. As the eggplant cooks, that melts into a rich, nutty sauce, and the result is a remarkably full-flavored vegetarian meal in under an hour. You can serve this dish with basmati rice, or with Indian flatbreads like roti or paratha, the latter of which you can find frozen in some supermarkets and heat on your stovetop.
Buffalo Cauliflower
Cauliflower is a blank canvas that can take on flavors that pack a punch, like Buffalo sauce. It also has lots of craggy edges that the sauce can cling to for maximum flavor. For crisp-edged buffalo cauliflower without a fryer, turn on the broiler. Once the tender florets are roasted, broil them a few minutes so the silky, spicy sauce caramelizes and chars in spots. (A finish under the broiler can also elevate chicken wings coated in Buffalo sauce.) Stir together a quick Ranch-style yogurt sauce for dipping, and get on with the game (or lunch).
Hearty Kale, Squash and Bean Soup
A substantial main course soup that usually contains beans or other legumes and lots of garden vegetables, call this soup a potage, if you like. Hard squash gives the soup body. Try acorn, Kabocha or delicata squash for a change from the ubiquitous butternut. This soup reheats beautifully, gaining character in the process, so it’s an ideal dish to prepare in advance.
Egg Salad and Greens Wrap
I make these delicious wraps with the whole-wheat lavash that I buy in Middle Eastern markets. Beet greens and Swiss chard are both good choices.
Mushroom Omelet With Chives
Mushrooms are the most versatile of ingredients, with a meaty texture and a rich, deep flavor ideal for vegetarian dishes. When raw, they’re elegant and delicious; when cooked, they become substantial. They are as welcome in a classic French omelet as they are in an Asian stir-fry. Mushrooms also are a nutritional bargain. Two ounces of sliced white mushrooms — about a cup — contain only 15 calories, and they are among the best dietary sources of B vitamins. Best of all, there are just so many mushroom dishes to try. This savory omelet is great for dinner or for brunch. If I’m making it for two, I make one large omelet in a 10-inch pan. It’s just as easy as making two individual omelets, and both servings are ready at the same time.
Simplest Steamed Fish
If you have forgotten how delicious a great fillet of fish can be, try this: Steam it, with nothing on it. Drizzle it with olive oil and lemon juice. Sprinkle it with coarse salt. Eat.
Creamy Vegan Polenta With Mushrooms and Kale
While it may be difficult to imagine many classic Italian dishes without a generous sprinkle of Parmesan, polenta’s creamy nature means it’s easy to make without butter or cheese. Nutritional yeast, when used in moderation, mimics the nutty flavor of Parmesan, but use too much, and it can overpower. Just a tablespoon or two does the trick here, along with a few tablespoons of vegan butter. (You can use olive oil, but vegan butter works best to achieve the richness of traditional polenta.) The red wine braised mushrooms and kale take the place of meat, but the polenta would be equally delicious served with simply sautéed greens or roasted root vegetables. Leftover polenta can be reheated over medium-low with a splash of broth or water.
Tricolor Salad Alla Splendido
An Italian restaurant standard is kicked up a few notches in this recipe from Mario Carbone, the chef at Carbone restaurant in New York. If you find it hard to track down Italian frisée or various types of radicchio, you can substitute the usual trio of arugula, endive and radicchio. A helping of poached tuna adds richness and a hint of a salade niçiose.
Vegan Turkish Kebabs With Sumac Onions and Garlic-Dill Mayonnaise
These vegan ground meat kebabs are inspired by Turkish street food. The kebabs themselves can be served on their own with the garlic-dill mayonnaise, or made into wraps, or tucked into Turkish bread or pita for sandwiches, with garlic-dill mayonnaise, sumac onions and tomatoes.
Marinated Celery Salad With Chickpeas and Parmesan
Celery is an underappreciated vegetable that brings wonderful crunch, perfume and bitterness to a salad (and no wonder: It’s related to carrots, parsley and fennel). Here it is front and center in a main-dish salad, especially satisfying with a poached egg or some charcuterie on the side. Buy full green heads of celery, not the pale hearts, and make sure the leaves are still attached. But if you can’t find celery with leaves, chopped parsley is a reasonable substitute.
Farro and Green Bean Salad With Walnuts and Dill
Farro is a perfect vehicle to showcase summer produce. With its nutty flavor and toothsome texture, the whole grain is a great counterbalance to snappy, sweet green beans. The farro cooks while you prepare the rest of the salad, allowing for an easy-to-assemble meal. Dill and walnuts, a nod to Middle Eastern flavors, are used in the gremolata, but pistachios and mint or hazelnuts and parsley would also work. Feta cheese or ricotta salata tossed in at the end would also be a nice addition. This hearty salad works well on its own, but would also be a fine companion to grilled fish or any other protein. Add the acid just before serving; it makes every ingredient sing.
Vegetarian Red Borscht
A traditional vegetable soup made for centuries throughout Eastern Europe, borscht is well loved by many. There are white versions, made with potatoes and cabbage, and green versions, made with sorrel and spinach. Most familiar, though, is the red version, made with beets. Many recipes add simmered beef, lamb or pork, but here, the meat is skipped for a quick-cooking vegetarian red borscht.
Pasta With Tuna and Olives
If you want to make a complete meal of this, you can add a green vegetable to the mix (see the variation below). I like to use fusilli because I like the way the tuna gets lodged in the twists of the corkscrews, but other types of pasta, such as penne or spaghetti, will be just fine.
Amaranth Porridge
Many years ago, after I decided to stop eating meat (I am not a strict vegetarian now, though that’s the way I usually eat), I walked down the street to look over whole grains at my local health food store in Austin, Tex. There wasn’t much of a selection; still, it was all new to me, and I bought some of the grains sold in bulk bins: brown rice, millet, kasha and wheat berries.
Breakfast Wheat Berries
Wheat berries sweetened with honey and perfumed with rose water and spices make a delicious breakfast on their own or stirred into yogurt (that’s the way I prefer to serve this). Whether you use farro, kamut, spelt or wheat berries (and whether you are cooking them for breakfast or for dinner) the trick here is to cook the grains for as long as it takes for them to really soften and to splay (that is, to burst at one end).
Pimento Mac and Cheese
This recipe combines two classic Southern dishes to create something special: Pimento cheese, a spread for sandwiches, crackers and vegetables, meets mac and cheese for a peppery and spicier version of the traditional baked casserole. The core ingredients of pimento cheese — sharp yellow Cheddar, pimento peppers and cream cheese — cook into a sauce that’s creamier and tangier than the usual purely cheese base.
Greek Chicken Stew With Cauliflower and Olives
Chicken, cauliflower, olives, tomatoes, feta — this is a stew of extraordinary flavor and complexity, down to its hints of cinnamon and garlic. The recipe uses skinless chicken legs or thighs; you could substitute ones with the skin if you like. (But don’t use chicken breasts, which will dry out.) You can use more or less chicken depending on your needs. And, important to note, you can freeze the finished dish, making it an excellent delivery to new parents or anyone in need of a home-cooked meal.
Fish Soup With Fennel and Pernod
This recipe was designed for new parents, who must cook stealthily to keep from waking an infant. The silent chef must follow a few simple, yet unforgiving rules: any busy, attention-demanding work has to happen before baby's bedtime; recipes must easily tolerate a lengthy span between prep and finish, ideally resting at room temperature to lessen the mess and effort involved in refrigerating and reheating; and the final steps, after baby's bedtime, have to be both quiet and fairly routine.
Lemony Egg Soup With Escarole
This lemon-scented soup, based on a Greek avgolemono, is a warming meal in the depths of winter. Made with good chicken broth, it’s familiar and comforting. But fresh lemon adds a sunny brightness while the egg and rice thicken things up, making the broth richer and heartier. To add vegetable matter, I stir some escarole into the soup, letting it wilt until silky and soft. If you like you can substitute spinach or baby kale for the escarole, adding an extra few minutes to the cooking time if using the kale.
Shrimp Fajitas With Peppers and Zucchini
Shrimp fajitas are quickly thrown together. The shrimp are tossed in a mix of lime juice and zest, adobo sauce from a can of chipotles, olive oil, cumin and garlic, and don’t need to be marinated for longer than 30 minutes. I use just enough adobo sauce in the marinade to obtain its spicy and slightly sweet essence without overpowering the shrimp.
Sous-Chef Salad
Following the model of a classic French salade composée, this satisfying salad, packed with cooked and raw vegetables, as well as canned best-quality tuna and hard-boiled eggs, presents beautifully and eats like a meal. It builds upon a traditional salade niçoise, but a true niçoise uses no lettuce, often has anchovies, would want cracked black niçoise olives and would not have artichoke hearts and basil. So let’s call this a sous-chef salad — and dodge the whole argument while picking up another: It is definitely the best meal salad you will eat all summer. Take care to arrange it so there’s some of each component wherever your eye lands. Try to nestle and fluff the ingredients to allow them all to be seen, rather than piling layer atop layer and thus obscuring the beauty of everything below. This makes the salad very attractive and, most important, ensures that everyone gets some of everything in each bite.
Cauliflower and Banana Peel Curry
Although one may assume banana peels are the star of the show, they’re minor players in this flavor-packed production, adapted from “Cook, Eat, Repeat” by Nigella Lawson (Vintage Digital, 2020). It all hinges on the performance of a concentrated paste made with shallots, ginger, garlic and a red chile of your choice. This mixture forms the base of an intensely aromatic sauce that would make anything taste good. Feel free to swap out the banana skins for their surprising doppelgänger, eggplant, and the cauliflower for broccoli, potato or parsnip. Prep makes up the bulk of the work in this recipe; the curry itself comes together in under 30 minutes.